Scars
by AdamaGirl
Summary: Bill & Laura make comparisons in the quiet hours on New Caprica- major fluff ahead!


_**Disclosure: I do not own BSG, or any of its characters, yet they live on in my heart. SO SAY WE ALL!  
**_

"Yours are cuter than mine."

"Well, yours are more manly."

They kissed in the glow of the bedside lantern, amidst shared giggles.

As lovers, they were still getting to know each other. It was only their first planned time together, since the settlement's official groundbreaking. So, needless to say, the honeymoon period of the Adama-Roslin relationship was in full and very romantic effect.

How they ever came upon the idea of comparing their scars, was beyond either one of them. But then again, they were both naked, and it seemed like a good thing to do, in-between love-making sessions.

Bill had decidedly more scars than Laura. Earned for the most part, in duty to the Fleet, his were visible reminders of both victory and loss.

"And this one?" Laura's finger traced the faint line that cut across his left bicep.

"My first mission. I was so green. So ready to join the fight. Coker just wanted to get out. Alive. He and I were both lucky to get off Djerba," the admiral said of his former ECO, and their time on the frozen moon. "The things we saw... learned..."

With a heavy heart, Laura watched as her lover sat up, and away from her. In an effort to comfort him, she joined his side, putting an arm around his waist, and pressing a warm kiss to the center of his muscled back.

"Tell me about this," Laura quietly changed the subject, and asked of the faded symbol of Tauron inked between Bill's shoulder blades. It wasn't a scar per se, but she knew it had to have meaning to him. "Having seen some of your pilots walking the halls, I would think that you would have more tattoos."

Smiling, he turned to her. "It wasn't really my thing, back in the day. My father had a few, but you should have seen my uncle, Samuel. He was an Enforcer with the Ha'la'tha, and covered in ink. Uncle Sam literally kept the neighborhood artists in business."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He and my father, and grandmother for that matter, were, as the saying goes, 'loyal to the soil'. I did it for them, before leaving for the war." Bill rubbed one of Laura's bent knees. "Your turn, now."

"If you were to look at photos of my childhood summers, every single one of them would show me with a skinned knee. Left or right, it didn't matter."

"It's hard to imagine you as clumsy."

Laura laughed. "I wasn't," she proudly corrected. "We were a very outdoorsy family. Always in nature. Hiking, fishing, you name it. I climbed trees better than a monkey. Getting down was another story, however."

Bill smiled, imagining the image of his lover as a little girl. All red hair, long limbs, and big green eyes.

"Wish I'd been there, to catch you. And, for everything else."

"Me too. My family would have loved knowing you."

"You miss them."

"Terribly."

He kissed her knee, and skimmed his hand down to her lower calf. There, a slightly jagged indentation brought forth more inquiry.

She groaned. "It was Solstice Break, and some friends from school had asked me to go ice skating with them at Minos Park." Laura felt herself being pulled down onto the mattress and into Bill's arms. He made a sympathetic groan as well, but followed it with an amused chuckle. "Please don't laugh," Laura pleaded with a playful slap to his chest. "I was an excellent skater!"

"Of that, I have no doubt," he replied with an added kiss to her forehead.

"I didn't want to go," Laura explained. "My mother had just been diagnosed... but she urged me to join them. To be young and foolish."

Again, Bill kissed her, this time on her shoulder. "Sounds vaguely familiar."

"Yes." She laughed at herself. The situation. "Gods, Bill. It was like flying." Laura snuggled in, and closed her eyes as she remembered skating with her friends. "The park lights were turned on, and rock music played over a PA system. It was a great night. But then, out of the corner of my eye I saw this little boy... he'd skated under the barrier set up for those with young children. Before I knew it, he was falling and sliding towards me. I had little time to stop myself without running into him, so I just jumped!"

"Over him? Just like in the Winter Games?!"

"Mmmm. But instead of me sticking a perfect 10 landing on the other side of the child, one of the little guy's skates stuck into me!"

Bill winced.

"It wasn't his fault. Entirely. He was scared, and he was like a turtle turned on its back, with his legs in the air. The blade hurt like shit, however. The medics had to wait to pull it out at the hospital. I forget how many stitches it took to close the gash."

"And there ended your skating career."

Laura nodded. "I didn't care. I was ordered bed rest for a week, and got to spend the whole time with my mom. We watched chick flicks on TV, and ate popcorn as fast as my dad could make it. I think it was the last truly happy and carefree time we had together, she and I."

"Fair trade, all things considered."

"Indeed." Looking up, she couldn't help but notice the small scar on the underside of Bill's chin. It was older than most of the others on his body, and barely noticeable. Except to her. She kissed it, and took the opportunity to reach up and nibble his bottom lip in the process.

Bill huffed with embarrassment, and even blushed. "You're not the only one with a skating story from Minos Park."

"Do tell."

"I was seven, and wanted nothing more than to try out for the little league hockey program."

"Let me guess- you thought you could conquer the ice, and be the next Sava Tantaros."

"Something like that." He brushed away a lock of Laura's hair and breathed a kiss to her neck. Settled in, Bill spun his tale of childhood woe. "My father tried talking me out of it. He said Taurons knew nothing about ice or skating, or anything to do with winter, for that matter. But I remained unconvinced. So anyway, the day came. Try-Outs. I was ready. Skates. Gear. The whole bit."

"I bet you were adorable."

"Of course."

"And humble."

"Even more so," Bill replied with a wink.

At that, Laura gave an incredulous snort. "Go on."

"They wanted to see what each kid could do, so they lined all of us up, and put us through the paces. Maneuvering through cones, timing our speed, shooting for the goal- things like that. I did pretty damn good, that is until-"

"You didn't?"

Bill cleared his throat loudly. "Remember, I was seven at the time. And small for my age. I wasn't near as coordinated as I am now. So when we were asked to string all of those drills together in one big effort, things didn't go quite as great as I'd hoped."

"Oh Gods."

"Yeah," Bill replied and nodded in agreement to Laura's commentary. "My speed was great. Outstanding in fact. However, in doing so, I blew every cone, ended up skidding head-first into the goalie's crotch, and left a bloody trail on the ice from where my chin landed and bust open."

Laura tried, unsuccessfully, not to giggle.

"The coaches were pissed. The other kids were pissed. I thought my dad would've been pissed, but he wasn't. He just drove me home, patched me up, and told me that I did my best. The next day Joe hung up a heavy bag in our garage, and said 'go to it.' So now you know why boxing- and not hockey, turned out to be my sport."

"Lucky me, then."

"How so?"

She caressed his face. Traced his bottom lip with the pad of her index finger. "You still have all of your pretty teeth."

The statement made him groan, but then favored her with a wide smile. "I'm the lucky one," he confessed soberly.

"Hmmm?"

In silent explanation, Bill gently cupped her left breast in his right hand. Playfully, he teased at her nipple, before lightly skimming the criss-crossing of biopsy scars, with his wide thumb.

Laura hummed at such tenderness, and laid her head against his chest, just above his beating heart. The thick red lines down his center and abdomen were clearly visible to her, and she too, took quiet appreciation of The Fates and their favor, upon her lover. A few more inches from Boomer's bullets, or moments of surgical chance missed by Cottle and Ishay, and she would never have known such joy.

"Me, too."

He rumbled beneath her, "We're a mess."

"Yes," she agreed. "And so are these sheets. Which reminds me..."

Bill raised an eyebrow, as Laura took his length in hand. "Whatcha got in mind, Teach?"

"Just looking for your circumcision scar..."

"Good luck," he huffed in amusement, while switching their positions. "Thing's so old, I doubt it still exists."

She laughed at that. "All good Tauron boys have one, Husker."

"And what do you know of Tauron boys, good or otherwise?"

After a long and pregnant pause, Laura favored her man with one of her sweetest smiles ever, and then showed him.

#END#


End file.
